The Early Learning Initiative Basis.Point Programme

Supporting the pre-school education of Dublin’s inner city children

NCI and the ELI

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• National College of Ireland (NCI) is a not-for-profit, registered charity (CHY 9928), limited by guarantee, but without share capital.

• Overall responsibility for the College rests with its Governing Body.

• Early Learning Initiative (ELI) is a discreet centre within NCI with its own dedicated staff and Review Board, chaired by Frank Ryan (Chairman, IDA).

• NCI does not charge any central overhead to ELI; all ELI funding goes directly to the delivery of services.

• NCI and the ELI uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and have signed up to both the ICTR and The Governance Code.

Research

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Research proves educational support is critical in lower socio-economic areas at an early age

Hart and Risley (2008)

Parent Child Home Programme

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• PCHP in the U.S. is in the Social Impact 100 Index.

• Five decades of evaluations demonstrate that PCHP improves children’s performance in IQ and school readiness assessments and increases participants High School graduation rates by 30% - to the same level as their middle class peers.

• Ireland - Children are performing at levels expected of their age unlike children in similar disadvantaged areas

• Powerful and cost-effective way to close the growing achievement gap.

Educational & Creer

Guidance

Educational & Career Guidance

Skill Development (social, language,

literacy & numeracy)

Parent Child Home

Programme

Quality Early Years CPD

Working with and for Local Children

• The area encompasses approximately 5000 families with 20% of the total population under the age of 18.1

• Data from the latest Irish Census (2011) showed that 40% of the population listed primary education as their highest level of educational attainment.

• A considerable portion of parents with children in these schools are early school leavers with 28% listing Junior Certificate (taken at age 15) as their highest level of education. 2

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Every school area ELI works in has disadvantaged status.

This identifies it as having the highest concentration of disadvantage in Ireland.

1 Irish Census 20112 Share et al 2011b

PCHP helps prepare children for success in school and in life

Current situation:• Generational Poverty = lack of

educational qualifications & unemployment

• Low quality home environments including high levels of violence

• Poor educational outcomes due to developmental & language delays

• Poor health outcomes• Social isolation, a sense of having been

forgotten and a frightening presence of a ‘drug, gun, gang and knife’ culture

• Lack of support for parents, especially those who were early school leavers themselves and who can’t help their children navigate the educational system

Need to tackle the root causes of

poverty, not just the symptoms.

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Parent Child Home Programme

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• Two year literacy, numeracy and oral language child and parenting programme that strengthens families and prepares children to succeed academically

• Twice weekly visits (46 visits per year), where the trained Home Visitors model model oral language, reading, numeracy and play for families and children.

• The books and toys are gifts to the families to enable them to continue the activities in their own time and at their own pace.

• Between visits, Parents/Guardians are encouraged to spend time talking, reading and playing with their children each day

• Only one PCHP child per family is necessary as parents learn the skills to interact with all their children.

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Impact

At the 3 year developmental check, Public Health Nurses notice the gains made by children who have benefitted from the PCHP programmes and those who have not.

Speech therapists see the improvement in the PCHP children on their waiting lists (2.5 yrs. wait) - the great majority of whom no longer need speech therapy.

Social workers have asked for PCHP for their own children, having seen its impact on the children they are involved with.

Primary teachers see PCHP children, often the first of three generations, enter primary school ready to succeed.

Children are performing at levels expected of their age unlike children in similar disadvantaged areas.

Six years on families are continuing to use the skills they learnt through PCHP. They and their children continue to read for fun - using the books and toys with their PCHP and subsequent children.

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The ELI basis.point programme

Over a two year period: • North Wall (St Laurence O’Toole Schools)• Summerhill/Mountjoy Square (Holy Child Preschool)• St Gabriels (Cowper St), Stanhope St and George’s

Hill • 4 Home Visitors will be employed to work with these

extra families benefitting 25 children and their parents• Funding: €75,000 over two years

With support from basis.point, parents are working hard to ensure that their children start school with the language, literacy and numeracy skills needed for success.

The average cost per year to provide a family with two home visits a week for a minimum of 23 weeks, a library of high quality books and educational toys, accredited and supervised staff, and regular assessments and monitoring to ensure progress and quality is €3,000.

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Together we are Changing Lives

‘He has learned lots such as colours,

shapes, some numbers, foods etc. I've learned to use my imagination

with books and Play-Doh, things like

that, so we get fun out of them.’

‘The books I found great and use them every day with my child as they are very educational and we both enjoy them. I would strongly recommend the programme to others.’

‘I would like to say thank you for all the help and

support on the programme and for all the great books

and toys as they are so educational.’

Contact us

admin@basispoint.ie

www.basispoint.ie

Follow us @basispointIRE

LinkedIN: basis.point

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Basispoint Limited, Taney Hall,Eglinton Terrace, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Ireland.

basis.point is a registered charity.CHY 21121 CRA 20084141 CRO 527748